Master Sword – Dec 2013

I had a new commission for a Master Sword, but I wanted to retire my old molds. The amount of finishing work required for gluing two halves together was getting out of hand, and the quality wasn’t were I wanted it. I started by revisiting my Solidworks model, and ended up importing the actual in-game model to get started.

On the right is the standard in-game model, which was depressingly low poly. I recalled that the sword looked a lot better in some cutscenes, so I played though until the third flame and grabbed a snapshot (center picture). I ‘traced’ over this in Solidworks to get the proper form.

Scaled to size, the in-game model showed a blade that was about 1″ thick. This would have weighed over 30 lbs. I changed the blade to 3/16″ (the lightest it can be, and be Blanchard ground without trouble). I set up to 3D print the hilt on my new Solidoodle 3, then disaster!

I made two mistakes here. First, I didn’t make a good filament guide, so it begun to wrap itself around the spool arm, which limited the machine’s range of movement. I need to make some repairs before it was working again. The second mistake was that I defied the reason I wanted new molds in the first place, and made these split down the middle. My next attempt curled up as they printed, which made them unusable. I later printed them standing upright with supports, and they turned out much better.

I added a recess for the gem, and some extra material at the top for a foam insert when these are being cast. I attempted some acetone smoothing too.

It didn’t work out great in a crockpot, but I found a really good paint can option on YouTube: Link

Rebound 25 from Smooth-On. First you paint on several thin layers, then add a thickener for following layers.

Once that is all cured, it’s important to support the structure with a fiberglass shell. When ejecting the 3D printed part, the wings broke, but I was able to make it work.

Here is a freshly cast new hilt. The part on top is foam core board, and can be removed easily with a knife and file.

For this commission, they wanted a change in the color to closer match the recent Link Between Worlds commercial, so I went through multiple iterations before we reached the desired result.

The blade also got some updates compared to the last one. These edges were precision machined instead of by hand with an angle grinder. The emblem got tightened up by request as well.

I also have some Twilight Princess-style tongs I’ve been prototyping for a different commission. This one will be completed in the near future.

The gems and tongs were 3D printed, sanded, filled, painted, and attached to the hilt. Hilt goes over the blade, wooden handle halves go over the steel as before, then I braid a leather handle.